DAVE MUSTAINE Says Guys That Don't Play Solos 'Aren't Fully Accomplished Guitar Players'

February 24, 2008

The third installment of the U.S. Gigantour — the acclaimed traveling heavy music festival launched in 2005 by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine — will launch April 12 in Denver, CO with headliner MEGADETH, Swedish metal band IN FLAMES, Finland's CHILDREN OF BODOM, Arizona's modern extreme JOB FOR A COWBOY and Oakland, CA heavy power trio HIGH ON FIRE all confirmed. The 29-date trek will criss-cross North America before wrapping up May 22 in Phoenix, AZ.

In the April 2008 issue of Revolver magazine, Mustaine spoke about how what kind of bands he was looking for to round out the Gigantour lineup this year.

"I wanted bands that weren't necessarily smash successes but that have been around for a while and built a following," he said. "And I wanted bands that have had consistent musicianship. There was a period over the last 10 years where guitar solos weren't popular anymore — they weren't en vogue. Thank God they're back in style, because I look at guys that don't play solos as guys who aren't fully accomplished guitar players. It's like in baseball, the guys in the American League that just bat and don't play, or the ones that just pitch and don't bat. Being a well-rounded guitar player to me is being able to play rhythm and lead and acoustic."

When asked if ensuring some degree of variety in this year's lineup was important to him, Mustaine replied, "Absolutely. The art of promoting belongs to a bygone era. In America, most promoters aren't promoters anymore — they're talent buyers. So they'll get four or five popular bands that are so similar, all you need to do is change the backdrop. You don't even have to change the dudes — they fucking look exactly the same, they sound the same, they've got the same tattoos, and they all stand in the same fucking position, staring at their feet, not moving around. And it's the same frontman that says 'motherfucker' and 'goddamn' in between every song. This tour, the bands are different; it was like the last tour and the one before that. If every band is credible on their own, then the sum is greater than the parts."

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